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CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. -- A recent report on fiscally stressed municipalities by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli does not provide a total picture of the county’s improving finances, according to Rockland County Executive Ed Day.

“It is no secret that I inherited a county that was the most fiscally stressed county in the entire state, with a fiscal score of 86.7 percent; a bond rating one step above junk status; and just $42,000 away from default in January 2014," Day said.

"In my first year, we went to being less than a percentage point (65.8 percent) away from coming off the significant stress list completely, a major accomplishment and looked forward to coming off the list completely for this year.
Unfortunately, and due to financial accounting adjustments related to the closure of the Summit Park Hospital/Nursing Home, we received the same score as the previous year."

DiNapoli’s report has designated 40 municipalities across the state as fiscally stressed. This includes 10 counties, 10 cities and 20 towns. This is the fourth year DiNapoli’s office has evaluated the financial stability of local governments.

The report shows that based on their 2015 financial statements, eight entities have received the highest designation of “significant fiscal stress," including the counties of Monroe, Franklin, Broome and Rockland; the cities of Albany and Port Jervis; and the towns of Tuxedo and Parish.

"The Comptroller’s report does not distinguish these onetime adjustments and therefore did not reflect our actual operating results for 2015," Day said. "I am happy to report that our Finance Commissioner, after contacting the Comptroller’s Office, and making the necessary adjustments for the closure of the Summit Park Hospital/ Nursing Home, determined our revised score should be 56.2 percent. This new score will appear in our next review in 2017.”